Co-leader Bill
Murphy, Erica Brendel and I
drove to Bake Oven Knob, and managed to climb to the North Lookout by 8:45 AM.
Only two raptors had passed by so far, as we were told by the official counters,
but both were Golden Eagles. Amazingly, only a few minutes later, another Golden
Eagle came by, the third of the morning, and the only one that we were to see.
Its golden hackles gleamed in the sun.

After that, we were entertained by Cedar Waxwings, Eastern
Bluebirds and Hermit Thrushes ,which were feeding on American Mountain Ash.
We were surprised that there were so few hawks, given that the light northwest
winds should have been ideal. However, we managed to get good looks at an immature
Northern Goshawk at about 10:00 AM.

Erica’s eagle eyes were a big help.
We enjoyed Red-shouldered Hawks, a couple of Northern Harriers, and a Northern
Raven. At about 1:00 PM, a large but very distant raptor appeared. Bill identified
it immediately just by the way it carried its wings. His original call proved
correct as the adult Bald Eagle got closer.